familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
John Adair (1757-1840)
}} * 1792: Veteran of Northwest Indian War * 1793-1795: Member Kentucky House of Representatives * 1802-1803: 4th Speaker of Kentucky House of Representatives * 1805-1806: U.S. Senator from Kentucky * 1813: Veteran of Invasion of Canada (War of 1812) * 1815: Veteran of Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812) * 1820-1824: 8th Governor of Kentucky * 1831-1833: US Representative - Kentucky 7th District Biography John Adair as an American pioneer, soldier, and politician. He was the eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the U.S. House and Senate. A native of South Carolina, Adair enlisted in the state militia and served in the Revolutionary War, during which he was twice captured and held as a prisoner of war by the British. Following the War, he was elected as a delegate to South Carolina's convention to ratify the United States Constitution. After moving to Kentucky in 1786, Adair participated in the Northwest Indian War, including a skirmish with the Miami Chief Little Turtle near Fort St. Clair in 1792. Popular for his service in two wars, he entered politics in 1792 as a delegate to Kentucky's constitutional convention. Adair was elected to a total of eight terms in the state House of Representatives between 1793 and 1803. He served as Speaker of the Kentucky House in 1802 and 1803, and was a delegate to the state's Second Constitutional Convention in 1799. He ascended to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated when John Breckinridge resigned to become Attorney General of the United States in the Cabinet of Thomas Jefferson, but failed to win a full term in the subsequent election due to his implication in a treason conspiracy involving Vice President Aaron Burr. After a long legal battle, he was acquitted of any wrongdoing; and his accuser, General James Wilkinson, was ordered to issue an apology. The negative publicity kept him out of politics for more than a decade. Adair's participation in the War of 1812, and a subsequent protracted defense of Kentucky's soldiers against General Andrew Jackson's charges that they showed cowardice at the Battle of New Orleans, restored his reputation. He returned to the State House in 1817, and Isaac Shelby, his commanding officer in the War who was serving a second term as governor, appointed him adjutant general of the state militia. In 1820, Adair was elected eighth governor on a platform of financial relief for Kentuckians hit hard by the Panic of 1819, and the ensuing economic recession. His primary effort toward this end was the creation of the Bank of the Commonwealth, but many of his other financial reforms were deemed unconstitutional by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, touching off the Old Court–New Court controversy. Following his term as governor, Adair served one undistinguished term in the United States House of Representatives and did not run for re-election. Marriage & Family In 1784, Adair married Katherine Palmer. They had twelve children, ten of them daughters. One married Thomas Bell Monroe, who later served as Adair's Secretary of State and was appointed to a federal judgeship. In 1786, the Adairs migrated westward to Kentucky, settling in Mercer County. # Ellen Adair (1785-) - ??? # Anna Catherine Palmer Adair (1786-1853) - md John Bridges, a Judge # Mary Moore Adair (1788-1813) # Nannie Adair (1789-) # Eliza Palmer Adair (1790-1871) - md Thomas Bell Monroe, appointed Kentucky Secretary of State by Gov. Adair. US Federal Judge from 1834 to 1861. Confederate Congressman. # Sallie Adair (1791-) # Catherine Palmer Adair (1792-1820) # Margaret Lapsley Adair (1794-1875) # Belle Adair (1795-) # Sarah Adair (1797-1854) # Isabella McCalla Adair (1799-1869) # Eleanor Adair (1801-1884) # Henrietta P Adair (1803-1833) # William Henry Palmer Adair (1806-1859) # John Adair (1808-1888) Ancestry The Adair family is one of the oldest in Ireland. The Adare Castle sits on the Shannon River still today. Vital Records Frankfort Gravestone * Location: Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky, * Inscription: Born in Chester District S.C. Jan 9, 1757; Died at White Hall, Mercer Co., KY May 1840 aged 83 years. This monument is erected by the people of KY in pursuance of a Resolution of the General Assembly, approved Mar 5, 1872, as a mark of their appreciation of his services as a Soldier and a Statesman. Research Notes References See Also * - Wikipedia * #6864701 * John Adair - disambiguation * James Adair in the Ninety-Six District - Research Notes for this family * Adair in Chester County, South Carolina * Adair in Mercer County, Kentucky Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of the Northwest Indian War Category:American Protestants Category:American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain Category:Burials at Frankfort Cemetery Category:Democratic-Republican Party United States Senators Category:Governors of Kentucky Category:Kentucky Democratic-Republicans Category:Kentucky Jacksonians Category:Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Category:People from Kentucky in the War of 1812 Category:Smallpox survivors Category:South Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution Category:Speakers of the Kentucky House of Representatives Category:United States Senators from Kentucky Category:Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives Category:19th-century American politicians Category:Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States